Was Martin Luther King, Jr., a Republican or a Democrat?

Political parties are always looking for endorsements from community leaders and other influencers. Having support from prominent figures can make or break a candidate or party. It’s no surprise that sometimes political groups will also try to claim affiliation with historical figures of note. One favorite subject is civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.—which party did he support?

The official answer is neither. King talked very infrequently about his personal politics and was not formally affiliated with either political party. Nor did he explicitly endorse any candidate. In fact, he stated, “I don’t think the Republican Party is a party full of the almighty God, nor is the Democratic Party. They both have weaknesses. And I’m not inextricably bound to either party.” What’s more, the parties of King’s time were different from the parties we know today; policies and platforms have changed drastically over time. According to King biographer David J. Garrow, King was fond of some Republican politicians, such as Richard Nixon, although it is almost certain that King voted for Democrats John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Among the few times he ventured into open partisanship was to denounce Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, who, as a senator, had voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. King said in an interview, “I had no alternative but to urge every Negro and white person of goodwill to vote against Mr. Goldwater and to withdraw support from any Republican candidate that did not publicly disassociate himself from Senator Goldwater and his philosophy.” Although King supported Johnson’s presidential campaign, he later spoke out about his dissatisfaction with Johnson’s handling of the Vietnam War.

That King was often tight-lipped about his personal politics does not mean that he was not passionate about politics generally. His commitment to social and economic justice for African Americans defined his career, and he frequently expressed skepticism toward capitalism generally. He famously said, “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” King was intensely invested in expanding votership among African Americans, heading a group in the late 1950s that aimed to register new African American voters in the South. So, if you want to closely align your political practice with that of King, perhaps the best way would be registering to vote and ensuring that others have the right to do the same.

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